Ye wei = a recent Chinese fad where exotic items are consumed with no regard for their rare, precious quality or the detrimental effect on the environment.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

John Lennon's declaration of independence- Live in Toronto

By most popular accounts, the Fabs' honcho declared his independence from his famous mates on his 1970 album Plastic Ono Band. Not quite though... most fans easily dismiss his first three albums with Yoko, thinking of them as weird anomalies done under her influence. Putting aside that load of crapola (the myth, not the albums) for now, there was another pivotal moment in Lennon's life that changed his relationship with the Beatles.

In fact, the whole event smacked of weird timing. Lennon and Ono were invited as guests of honor for the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival show on Sept. 13, 1969. Just two days before the show, Lennon instead decided that he'd perform there- except for an impromptu improv gig with Yoko at Cambridge University in March '69, it was his first show since the Beatles retired from touring three years earlier (partially at Lennon's insistence). It was also two weeks before the release of the final album that the Beatles recorded together, Abbey Road (Let It Be was recorded several months earlier but came out in 1970).

He made a quick bunch of calls to get a band together. Previously, he and Ono saw the Plastic Ono Band as a conceptual idea rather than a band- robots would stand in for band members (which Kraftwerk would use to good effect years later). For the Toronto show though, he made a call to 'God,' aka Eric Clapton, who at the time was on an exhausting merry-go-round of bands- within the last few years, he'd been in the Yardbirds, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Cream and Blind Faith. Within a year of the POB gig, he'd tour with Delaney & Bonnie, form Derek and Dominos and launch his own solo career. In addition he had other previous ties to the Fabs- he did a great cameo on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (brought in by Harrison for his song) and appeared as part of Lennon's make-shift band for the Rolling Stones Dec '68 'Rock and Roll Circus' (where they played "Yer Blues" with Keith Richards & Hendrix's drummer Mitch Mitchell). Klaus Voorman was an old Fabs friend from their Hamburg days who worked an artist (he designed the cover for Revolver) and bassist for Manfred Mann and was now drafted into Lennon's new band. Drummer Alan White had been playing with Alan Price (Animals) and Ginger Baker. When he got the call from Lennon, he thought it was a prank. He wisely took up the offer (and would later famously play in Yes). Supposedly, Lennon's fellow guitarist in the Fabs was also invited but declined.

In a way, it was an exciting, last minute jaunt. The band only got to practice on the flight over there and backstage. Lennon, Ono and friends weren't even on the bill. The Doors were the headlining act and the rest of the roster was quite a line-up, including Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry and Gene Vincent (not to mention Chicago and Alice Cooper). It must have been pretty exciting for Lennon to perform alongside his old idols. It was so exciting that he threw up a lot before the show.

But there was even more exciting news and not the good kind. On the way over, Lennon revealed to Clapton and Voorman that he'd had enough of the Beatles and he was quitting. Mind you, this was even before he told the Fabs themselves. He'd get the chance a week later to their faces when he returned from the show, though they begged him to keep it quiet.

So on the cusp of quitting the Fabs and a last minute show with his favorite rockers, Lennon had a lot on his mind when he stepped out in front of 20,000 fans for the Toronto show. Other than all of the reasons above, there are two other reasons that the band's set is a piece of history- it became an album and a movie. D.A. Pennebaker (who also did Don't Look Back, Monterey Pop) filmed the show, which eventually became the feature Sweet Toronto (released in 1971), including single-song performances from Diddley, Lewis and Richard. The Plastic Ono Band's 40-minute set would also be released as an album that December- Live Peace in Toronto 1969. And now, Pennebaker's movie is being re-released as John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band Live in Toronto '69 (Shout Factory). It's a shame that the ol' rock legends become just an after-thought or warm-up here but in the movie, Lennon's band does perform 8 of the 11 songs there.

Music-wise, Lennon's choices were interesting for his new band. Clapton easily creamed his buddy Harrison in terms of string-bending but the rest of the band didn't overpower the Fabs. Voorman is definitely capable but he's no Macca on bass. Ditto for Starr vs. White, who'd prove more versatile in Yes. More on Yoko later.

Lennon himself was in his hassidic-beard phase though some noted that the bushy locks and white outfits made him look like the religious guy he said the Beatles were bigger than a few years before. Performance-wise, he was anything but slack at the Toronto show. Definitely loose and raw but that ain't a bad thing when you're banging out rock and roll.

The band's setlist was curious and revealing too. The first three numbers, all covers done by an already-famous songwriter, go back to the Fab's Hamburg days and would surface again in their pro days. Carl Perkins' "Blue Suede Shoes" was done during the Let It Be sessions, Larry Williams' "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" was on the Help! soundtrack and "Money (That's What I Want)" was on their second album, With the Beatles. After the psychedelic overload of Sgt Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour, Lennon seemed to want to dig back at his roots (as the band would try to do with LIB), much as the Byrds and Dylan were doing then with country music then.

For the next/last three songs he did for the show, Lennon dug back into his own songbook. "Yer Blues" is actually the only Beatles song he does. Thanks to Clapton, this version is a lot frothier but even the original was more of a heavy, plodding Brit version of the blues than what Muddy or Wolf came out with in Chicago. It does follow the AAB structure of 12-bar blues numbers but again, it ain't something that Willie Dixon would have put his name on though it bears more than a passing resemblance to what Led Zeppelin was cooking up then (it's also been suggested that Lennon was making fun of English blues, which is plausible too).

"Cold Turkey" was originally recorded a few days before the Toronto show with the same line-up except that Ringo was playing drums. This harrowing, to-the-bone song about fighting off addiction would come out in October as a Lennon single but here, he was airing it for the public for the first time, complete with Lennon's and Ono's howls and screams.

"This what we really came for," Lennon tells the crowd next before launching into "Give Peace A Chance," which was his first solo single. Ragged as always, Lennon forgets the roll call of names from the original and ad-libs, adding in his new band-mates into the lyrics.

What's interesting about Lennon's half of the band's set is the many sides we see of him: loose but trad rocker, drug addict and peace advocate.

What's more, this is was another chapter in his Beatles-era solo career. He already had out the two singles he performed for the show, plus two albums that he did with Ono (Two Virgins, Life with the Lions) with a third one about to come out (Wedding Album), not to mention Live Peace, which came out at the end of the year. With all of this going on outside of the Beatles, is it any wonder that he was ready to quit that band?

And then there's Yoko. If you're already dead set against her, there's nothing I can say here to sway you. But hear me out on a couple of points. For the 2nd half of the Toronto set, Lennon announces "And now Yoko's gonna do her thing all over you." And that she does with 5 minutes of "Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow)" (aka the B-side of "Cold Turkey") and 12 minutes of "John, John (Let's Hope for Peace)." I'll definitely grant you that the feedback-laden second song is tough to sit through.

A couple of things to keep in mind about Yoko though:

1) Her background was as a fluxus artist. She was in fact one of the leading lights of the movement. As such, it'd be stupid or weird of her to sing say "Something Stupid" with John or chime along to "I Wanna Hold Your Hand."2) Most Beatles fans ain't into avant music. Listen to singers like Leon Thomas or Patty Black Waters or Meredith Monk and Yoko sounds kinda tame in comparison. But alongside Lennon's rocking stuff, it is pretty hair-raising.3) Lennon himself was her biggest fan and booster.4) Another Fabs songwriter would also rope his wife into his post-Beatles band and she wasn't exactly a singer either (like Yoko, Linda had an arts background, as a quality photographer)

Though Lennon had done three albums with Ono by then, this show was the first time that they were on more equal footing artistically. Two Virgins, Life With the Lions and Wedding Album were definitely products of Ono's background and Lennon's fascination with it. On the live record, they were both represented more equally, as they were on Sometimes in New York and Double Fantasy, though by then, the musical balance had tipped more towards Lennon's rock than Ono's avant territory.

But most of all, Lennon was finding his independence in this collaboration. For years, he'd worked with McCartney, sharing ideas and bouncing ideas off of each other and now he'd found a new partner to work with, who just happened to be the love of his life. As strong and independent as he'd sound in song & interviews, he still needed some sort of partner to work with. On the Beatles (aka the White Album), some of that tension was showing, not only with Yoko actually given a lead line to sing on "Bungalow Bill" but also on the most maligned song in the Fabs' catalog, "Revolution #9," a Lennon creation that could have easily fit on one of his early albums with Yoko. The next year, during the filming of Let It Be, Lennon and Ono are seen as inseperable whenever Lennon wasn't recording.

By the time of the Toronto show, Lennon had made up his mind. The Beatles were his past. He'd rope in Ringo for Plastic Ono Band and George would appear on the subsequent Imagine so that left one member of the group that he needed to break away from. This would be the person he'd engage in pointed attacks soon after the Beatles broke up as well as the other end of the love/hate spectrum where he was also his long-time songwriting partner. It was also the guy who Lennon blew up at during that fateful Apple meeting where he quit the band, accusing his old partner of dominating the group. As such, Live in Toronto was Lennon's coming out party before the Fabs officially split and his declaration of independence from McCartney.

UPDATE: Yoko will be reviving the Plastic Ono Band with son Sean for her Sept album Between My Head and the Sky

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Abdullah Ibrahim- still introspective after all these years

The first time I witnessed this legendary South African jazz pianist (and Ellington protege) was in the early 90's at an Apollo Theater show, opening for one-time band-mate Hugh Masekela and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Quite a triple bill. What struck me most about Ibrahim's set wasn't just the beautiful sedateness of his music but also how the crowd would scream out at the solos, even the flute.

Just shy of 20 years later, aka last weekend, I caught Ibrahim at NYC's Jazz Standard with his band Ekaya. Though the great sax-man Carlos Ward isn't with him now, AI had with him an impressive four-piece horn section to play a wonderful hour-long set. The brass-men let out sweet, lyrical solos but what still gripped me was Ibrahim himself and his elegant, sublime piano- something no doubt learned from Sir Duke. It made me wish that I hadn't foolishly skipped his solo gigs earlier that week.

Luckily, when I asked if there was any merch available, there was a solo album from last October for sale (now coming out again this past March). Somehow I missed it then but I was really grateful to get a hold of it now. It's called Senzo, available on Sunny Side Records.

While I was hoping for a bunch of meditative piano pieces, what I got instead was a 22-part suite which doubled as travelogue, with nods to Ellington, Coltrane, New Orleans and of course, Ibrahim's beloved homeland. Even when strung-together, the pieces still have an airy reflective charm to them. All of which makes me want to catch him do a solo show the next time I have the chance.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Big Star & the Clean- cult rock faves survive & thrive

By now it's a standard rite in the annals of ye olde rock journalism that we must toast our favorite cult artists as part of the pre-punk canon- there's the Velvet Underground, the Stooges, New York Dolls, Modern Lovers. And then there's power pop gods, Big Star.

It's hard for me to argue against this early 70's Memphis group as I grew up with them even if I didn't hear their until years after they first broke up. Their 1972 debut, wishfully/grandly titled #1 Record (not even close), was this lush, elaborate breeze of music that seemed to strange yet familiar to me- maybe because it consumed earlier 60's pop styles and churned it out into something new & foreign. Helmed by obsessive Chris Bell, he split, leaving former Boxtop Alex Chilton to carry on the band. Then there was 1974's Radio City, one of my all-time faves and the last proper album the group made before disintegrating. RC was much sparer but no less inspired, or weird- no less than AC's vision of power pop as done by a full-fledged proudly out-of-step weirdo.

Though the two albums have been paired together before, they've now been reissued on CD by Fantasy. On vinyl, the albums are reissued by no less than the small Memphis label that originally put them out, Ardent, which was able to carry on as a famous studio which hosted the likes of R.E.M., Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top, the White Stripes and many others. Also, Star drummer Jody Stephens has worked there as studio manager since 1987. Fitting then that Star's wonderful first two albums now come home to Ardent.

Read more about the reissue at the Concord Music site. And as for Star, hopefully you know that they've been reunited since the early 90's with Clinton, Stephens and the guys from the Posies but that's another story... Also, for the hardcore power pop nuts, Rhino has a Star box set coming out this Sept but that's yet another story again...

And speaking of cult rockers, another hopefully familiar name is coming back too. New Zealand rockers the Clean were also not heralded enough outside of their homeland and also went the break-up and reformation route. Now readying their first record in years, Mister Pop in September on Merge, here's a take of that in the form of a free download: In the Dreamlife U Need a Rubber Soul. How true that is, ain't it?

Monday, June 01, 2009

June/July issue of Perfect Sound Forever now online

360 DEALSGood or bad for artists?"If labels want to continue to enjoy whatever remnants of record-sale success that are left, and avoid a seemingly inevitable demise, they must look beyond simply artist development to bring in success, sales, and most importantly, longevity, to their artists. And there exists a relatively new and very promising practice to (hopefully) do just that: The 360 Deal."

EEK A MOUSEReggae toasting star"Eek-A-Mouse is an important figure in the history of dancehall music because, more than anyone else, he proved that, with dancehall, what you have to say is as important as the way you say it. In other words, flow, delivery and "style" are as important as, and sometimes more important than, what you have to say. "

DANNY FIELDSStooges/MC5/Ramones owe him- extensive interview"The basics: early on, during the sixties, he spent time with Andy Warhol & the Factory crowd. From there he became the "house hippie" at Elektra Records, working with the Doors & Love amongst others, and was also responsible for the label signing the MC5 and the Stooges in one day."

BOBBY FLORESTexas fiddles rule"Texas has countless singers, songwriters and musicians. And in the midst of this great state, there is one voice that stands above all others. A voice so pure that it is like silk flowing across the air, gently reaching inside your head, and leaving a mark forever on you."

GUITAR SLIMGreat forgotten bluesman/showman"On February 7, 1959, Eddie “Guitar Slim” Jones died of complications from pneumonia in New York City. While he was on an East Coast tour of one-nighters, his breathing had become increasingly difficult... Five years earlier, Slim had a number-one hit on the Billboard R&B charts for six weeks straight..."

JEROEnka ballads-Japanese star"On one (audition) for NHK television, he caught his break, and was signed by a label. Two years of voice training later, and in early '08 he had a stage name: Jero. He also had a single and video: umiyuki or, Marine Snow. Then he blew up."

MY BLOODY VALENTINE"Loveless" era interview"Kevin Shields used to be Garbo or at least Brian Wilson between say 1968-1976. But like Wilson he has emerged and now he just can't seem to shut up. I mean he even was videoed for close to an hour by Ian Svenonious. But when Loveless was being made he didn't talk that much."

DEXTER ROMWEBERRockabilly roots-rock"Dex is a musician's musician. But any old soul can hear how he channels spirits through his guitar. For every performance, his face twists into a demon grimace, a gnarled sneer. His eyes glaze over. He rocks on his heels, stamps his feet in a ragged dance. He doesn't know any other way."

CHRIS SCHLARBGuitarist/composer/improver"From his home in the unlikely improv hotspot of Long Beach, California, guitarist and composer Chris Schlarb has battled many odds in turning off-the-cuff creativity into his bread and butter. For more than a decade, Schlarb has crossed all boundaries with his guitar and structured compositions both traditional and modernistic, while leaving plenty of room for free expression."

TELEPHONE HOLD MUSICA fevered quest for muzak"What solace it would be to wait accompanied by some sort of overly vacuumed sound, odiferous of no particular genre or anti-genre, or spuriously genre-bending torsion, some sonorous squeaking air pumped with a few plashes of mildly distasteful keyboard sounds, rounding themselves into a torpor."

GIANLUIGI TROVESIItalian jazz & beyond"Led by a classically trained Italian clarinetist Gianluigi Trovesi, the album "Vaghissimo Ritratto" references twentieth century composition, minimalism, Italian pop, the traditional music of his own lands and even Renaissance period music."

VINYL RESURGENCEWhy does the media love this story only now?"Back in October, I commented on the mainstream press' acceptance of the so-called comeback of vinyl and the flood of articles that resulted from these somewhat delayed observations. More than six months later, this journalistic trend has yet to ebb. I'm still not seeing a lot of original conclusions drawn by these reporters."

VELVET UNDERGROUNDIn conjunction with Richie Unterberger's new VU book, their debut engineer (and unofficial co-producer) speaks"When the Velvets and their management were ready to record their first album in April 1966, it was Norman Dolph to whom they turned when they needed to acquire professional studio time. For good measure, Norman also split the costs for the sessions with the VU's management. He even, along with engineer John Licata, ended up pretty much running those sessions..."

TOM WAITSExclusive excerpt from Barney Hoskyn's new bio details TW's 80's renaissance"Like the most uncompromising singer-songwriters of the decade just past ­ Dylan, Young, Bowie, and others ­ Waits decided it was time to reinvent himself, to shake off everything he'd stood for. It was make or break, a bloodless coup that would dispense with all and any safety nets..."